


roll heroics

by adverbialstarlight



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Dungeons & Dragons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Tabletop Gaming, Best Friend Squad (She-Ra), F/F, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Lesbian Disaster Adora (She-Ra), Mutual Pining, Oblivious Adora (She-Ra), Pining, no beta we die like fools, reckless idiot adora, yeah its a fuckin dnd au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:47:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24731062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adverbialstarlight/pseuds/adverbialstarlight
Summary: Five times Catra saves Adora and one time Adora returns the favor.aka the best friend squad plays D&D and Adora is her usual lovely dumbass self. updating mondays unless otherwise stated.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 85
Kudos: 327





	1. she-ra rushes in

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to my catradora dnd au, a few notes before we start. though i have played dnd before and am familiar with how things work, i kinda wandered off with some logistics and spells and shit. you're gonna wonder 'ly, what level are they at for a spell like that' to which i reply idk, i'm just here for a good time ok. no dnd knowledge required though i do sometimes use some ttrpg jargon so if you're unfamiliar sorry.
> 
> also a character key for reference:  
> Catra: Wildcat (tiefling rogue)  
> Adora: She-Ra (human paladin)  
> Glimmer: Gemma (half elf sorcerer)  
> Bow: Beau (human ranger)  
> Entrapta: dungeon master

The first time it happened, Adora didn’t _try_ to get kidnapped, no matter how much everyone else accused her of doing so.

It was about an hour into the group’s Tuesday night session of Dungeons and Dragons, and the party had just come across an abandoned temple in the middle of the woods.

Immediately, Adora raised her hand and said, “She-Ra runs into the temple.”

Entrapta looked up from her notebook. “You don’t want to make a perception first? She’s just going to rush in?”

Adora nodded.

Glee lit up Entrapta’s face as she said, “She-Ra is immediately ambushed by a pack of goblins that were hiding in the temple. Initiative time!”

Around Glimmer’s living room, everyone groaned.

“Adora, seriously?”

“Not again!”

“Fuck.”

“Pshh, don’t worry guys,” Adora said, ignoring their protest, “She-Ra is a paladin with super high armor class, we’ll be _fine_.”

Glimmer scoffed. “Well Gemma doesn’t! This is like the fifth time She-Ra’s done this, why didn’t you just let Wildcat use her fancy rogue princess skills to investigate first?”

“Yeah, Adora,” Catra said teasingly. They made eye contact and Adora could feel her cheeks heating up.

The problem with spending more time with your best-friend-turned-rival-turned-kinda-friend-again in weekly Dungeons and Dragons sessions and elsewhere was that things you forgot tended to resurface. Small things, like knowing how she liked her coffee so you could bring it to her after a class, the familiarity of the definitely not adorable sound she made when she sneezed, a truckload of pent up feelings that had been developing for practically the entire time they’d known each other.

Now that they were done being complete bitches to each other all the time, Adora had more time to appreciate the small things about Catra, and it was becoming a bit of a problem. Sure, she’d had a small (read: massive) crush on Catra in middle school, but wasn’t that just a part of being gay? It didn’t have to _mean_ anything. But now, at age nineteen, Adora found herself once again enthralled. It was impossible not to, it was Catra for fuck’s sake, but a small eleven-year-old’s crush was a bit different than an eleven year long one. Especially if that girl you liked— perhaps, even at this point _loved_ — could never in a million years even look at you the same.

Adora had to remind herself of this every time something happened, and she looked away quickly.

Entrapta cleared her throat. “Initiative time.”

* * *

The fight began with a surprise round of attacks from the goblins. Two of them came darting out of the shadows and latched themselves onto She-Ra as she sauntered into the cave. She cried out in surprise. One of the goblins threw a heavy ax at her head and She-Ra narrowly dodged it. The other goblin was luckier than the other and got a slash at her arm, but she could hardly feel the sting of its blade through her pumping adrenaline.

Then Beau came rushing inside, pulling one of his special arrows from the quiver strapped to his back. “Protect the princess,” he yelled out to Gemma, firing three times at the first goblin. On the second hit it fell back, dead, and three more goblins came rushing into the light.

She-Ra summoned her legendary sword, which also acted as her sacred weapon, and slashed at the next goblin, the one who had thrown the ax. She took him down easily and grinned, charging at another one. It did not go down as quickly however, and once again attacked, this time with some sort of paralysis spell. She-Ra tried to struggle but found herself stuck, and she cursed internally. Not even her mouth worked.

Then, she watched with some surprise as a quick flash of silver ran over the goblin’s throat and it fell to the ground, revealing Wildcat. Her crimson cloak’s hood was up but She-Ra could see the smirk on her lips as she said, “This princess doesn’t need any protection, thank you very much.” She then threw another smaller knife at another goblin creeping out, hitting right between its eyes. Wildcat let out a delighted laugh.

“Yes, we know that but if you die, your father will kill us,” Beau said. “And She-Ra doesn’t always have the safest tactics for battle.”

Well, she couldn’t really argue there. Wildcat snorted as she glanced in She-Ra’s direction, gaze resting on her for a long moment. She said, “She _never_ does.”

Gemma burst in then, her hands ready with dancing lights floating above them. She kept them close and didn’t see She-Ra, but she looked around at the goblins and quickly cast earth tremor. Beneath them, the ground began to shake. Wildcat stumbled a bit but remained standing and Beau grabbed the wall. She-Ra slipped and was thrown back, landing on her back. She groaned as her head made impact.

Around them, several goblins fell to the floor as well, and Gemma let out a whoop.

Then, cold, clawed hands suddenly grasped She-Ra’s bare arms. If she could move, she would gasp, but silenced and unable to move anything, she had to only watch in horror as two goblins silently dragged her back into the shadows. The temple itself was dark— and, out of character, everyone just failed the fuck out of their perception rolls— so no one could see her being taken.

As some more goblins attacked the party, She-Ra continued to be pulled into the temple, back and back until they reached a back wall. One of the goblins moved some things around and then she was dragged through a doorway and tied up in ropes. The goblins hauled her onto some sort of wagon and one stepped on with her. It said something in a language she couldn’t understand and then something hard hit her head. Everything went black.

* * *

The players erupted into shouting as Entrapta finished her narration.

“What the hell?” Glimmer exclaimed. “ _Adora!”_

“God, the rest of the party is doomed now without our OP paladin,” Bow groaned.

Catra merely laughed. “God, only you would end up pulling something like this.”

“Hey,” Adora said, pouting. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what I said. You’re an idiot,” Catra said. There was no malice behind her words, only humor. There was a grin on her lips as she leaned across the table to gaze at Adora. “I’m surprised She-Ra hasn’t fucking _died_ already.”

Adora scoffed, smirking back. “I could say the same about Wildcat, you know. She’s made some insane gambles so far, watch those bite us all in the ass.”

They held each other’s gaze until Adora looked away again, doing her best to avoid the stares of Bow and Glimmer. Being her best friends, they’d picked up on her rekindling crush on Catra from the start, and though they rarely said anything on it, the looks they gave her said enough.

 _Ask her out already_ , they seemed to say. But she couldn’t do that, especially not now. Adora had only just gotten Catra back, she wouldn’t fuck it up again.

“Alrighty,” Entrapta said, unphased. “So for the rest of you, how do you plan on getting She-Ra back?”

Catra sighed, tilting back in her chair. “Okay, so I was thinking…”

* * *

When she woke up again, She-Ra was tied to a chair at the center of a circle of fire.

“Well that went well,” she muttered to herself, finally able to speak. Luckily, it didn’t seem like the goblins wanted to stick around and torture her anything, but there was a low chance of anyone finding her anytime soon either.

She-Ra rocked back and forth in her chair, trying to get a look at anything other than the bright orange flames. The ceiling was high up and made of concrete, but other than that she couldn’t see anything. She sighed and righted her chair. It was probably going to be a while.

She couldn’t be sure how much time had passed, but some time later, there was a crash and shouting on the other side of the wall of flames. There was the sounds of metal clashing and the singed smell of fresh magic in the air. She-Ra’s heart leapt into her throat as she heard a familiar voice shout, “Where the fuck is she?”

“Wildcat!” She-Ra shouted, voice cracking at the end. She strained against the ropes, desperately trying to see. Then, in an instant, Wildcat was crashing through the wall of fire. She didn’t so much as flinch thanks to her tiefling heritage and quickly strode up to She-Ra, panting heavily.

“What the fuck, you idiot,” she said, eyes searching for injuries.

She-Ra shrugged sheepishly as Wildcat used her dagger to cut through the rope. It fell easily and She-Ra looked down at her wrists before gazing up at Wildcat, brow quirked. “You jumped into fire for me?” she asked, teasingly.

Wildcat’s hand was still lightly touching She-Ra’s arm, but she pulled it back quickly to cross her arms across her chest. “Of course I did,” she mumbled. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”

“Aww, really?” She-Ra said, her face aflame as she giggled.

“Yes, shut up,” Wildcat said. “You’re— you’re one of my best knights, and besides, I’m fire immune, remember?.”

She-Ra grinned at her. They were standing incredibly close, and somehow, she felt herself blush even harder. “Right.”

They stared at each other for a long moment until Wildcat cleared her throat. “C’mon, lets get out of here.” She-Ra nodded, and Wildcat took her hand. Together, they tumbled out of the flames, Wildcat’s arms shielding She-Ra in a close embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading, to be continued next monday! this fic came from a princess catra/knight adora prompt given to me by maya right after s5 (i'm still yelling) and half of it's written already so hopefully updating will be consistent. until then, lmk what you think and if you want, catch me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/adverbialnouns) or [tumblr](http://adverbialstarlight.tumblr.com) :D
> 
> ( ps, shout out to anyone who caught the chapter title reference ;) )


	2. princess charming as fuck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the ridiculousness continues.

“Alrighty everyone, pizza’s here so let’s begin!” Glimmer said as they all sat down.

Adora arranged her notes and took a sip of soda. Catra leaned into her space and whispered, “Hey Adora, try not to get kidnapped again this time.”

She tried not to pay attention to the way Catra’s warm breath ghosted over her ear and made her shiver a bit, heartbeat pounding. God, this was embarrassing. Trying to recover from her flustered state, she replied, “Hey Catra, try not to lose half of your hit points to a mini goblin army this time.”

Catra rolled her eyes and elbowed her. “Fuck off, that was to save your ass, you know.”

“Riiiiiiight,” Adora said, turning to face her. “Whatever you say. But really, this time is going to be different.”

“Is it now?” Catra asked, quirking a brow.

Adora crossed her arms. They nearly brushed Catra’s side from the proximity. She hoped Catra couldn’t hear the embarrassingly loud drumming of her pulse right now. Why did she keep doing this to herself? “Absolutely,” she breathed out.

“Okay,” Entrapta said, startling the two away from each other. “So our journey continues. At the inn, you hear word of a laboratory that is conducting some research on these magical crystals, said to have some incredibly dangerous powers. The locals have reported some mysterious happenings ever since the lead alchemist began her experiments and is offering up several sacks of gold coin for anyone willing to try and shut down her operation. Do you four accept?”

* * *

“Hey guys?” Beau said hesitantly. “I’ve got a _really_ bad feeling about this. Like, really bad. The innkeeper’s description was super vague.”

She-Ra was slashing a path through the thick swamp for the group to actually reach this stupid lab, so she merely grunted in reply.

“We’ll be fine,” Wildcat said, most likely rolling her eyes. “Besides, if we want to make it to Plumeria, we’re going to need the gold to get there. Since you all are so against stealing.”

“How are _you_ the monarch of a kingdom again?” Gemma huffed.

Wildcat began to reply as She-Ra hacked through the last of the thick moss, and a gasp left her lips. “Guys,” She-Ra said, “I think this is it.”

She stepped aside to reveal a clearing. The trees seemed to arch away from the large building at the center, which seemed to float above the moss and algae. It was surrounded in a strange red glow, illuminated from the inside.

“Wow, not ominous looking at all,” Wildcat remarked. “I don’t suppose you want to just charge right in again, She-Ra?”

She-Ra rolled her eyes, sheathing her sword as she turned to Wildcat. “Do you have any better ideas?”

Wildcat opened her mouth but clamped it shut again after a moment. “Okay, no I don’t.”

“Thought so,” She-Ra said.

“Whatever.”

“As much as I think this is a stupid plan,” Gemma piped up, “I don’t either. Beau?”

Beau sighed. “Let’s do it. Just… please don’t be stupid about it this time.”

“You guys have so little faith in me,” whined She-Ra. “I promise, this time everything will be fine.”

Everything was not fine. It turned out that the alchemist’s experimental crystals were actually mind controlling and She-Ra’s streak of bad luck continued. (In other words, Adora rolled a natural one on her constitution save because these dice absolutely hated her.)

Suddenly, She-Ra felt her soul being pushed back, out of control of her body.

“Uh, She-Ra? Are you alright?” Beau asked, brows furrowed. The rest of them hadn’t felt any effects from the crystals whatsoever, and there was no way for She-Ra to even get a warning out. So much for doing better this time.

She-Ra watching in horror as her limbs began to move on their own, arm lifting her sword and swiping it in a large arc at her friends. Beau yelped and jumped back, arms around Gemma’s shoulders. She-Ra’s eyes turned red.

“Okay, not alright,” Beau shouted. “What is happening?”

“Obviously she’s been possessed through the crystal or something,” Wildcat said, rolling her eyes. “We’ve got to neutralize her.”

“But we can’t hurt her,” protested Gemma. “It’s still She-Ra, even if she’s currently trying to kill us right now.”

“She’ll be fine,” Wildcat said. She began by pulling out a silver whip from her bag, attempting to wrap int around She-Ra, who escaped it swiftly. “Well, I guess that didn’t work, can we use knives now?” Wildcat asked.

“No!” Gemma and Beau shouted in unison.

Wildcat sighed. “Fine.”

* * *

“Hey, wait,” Glimmer said, holding up a hand before she began her turn. “Maybe we should actually discuss what to do here. Like, out of character. Because we can’t _kill_ one of our party members, that would be kind of fucked. We need another way.”

Bow nodded. “Yeah, I agree.”

Catra scoffed. “Nonviolence isn’t going to solve anything, it’s obviously not She-Ra right now and she won’t hold back so neither should we.”

“I,” Glimmer began, but she pursed her lips. “Alright, fair enough, but we shouldn’t kill her.”

“Yeahhh, uh, I kinda like my character alive,” Adora piped up. “I’d like to keep her right now.”

Bow turned to Entrapta. “Can I make a check on the crystals to see if there’s any way to, like, deactivate them and get She-Ra back or something?”

Entrapta, who had been watching on eagerly, nodded. “Sure, go ahead, Bow! Arcana check.”

Bow pulled one of his D20s from his bag and breathed out a long breath. “C’mon, please don’t mess this up,” he told it, squeezing his eyes shut, then rolled the die. When he opened his eyes again, he let out a whoop. “That’s twenty one total!”

“This crystal is like another type that you’ve encountered before, it has properties that make a person’s soul prone so another spirit can possess their body. High persuasion can sometimes help the soul retake their body for this class of crystals, though the swiftest course of action is always beheading.”

“Beheading?” Adora exclaimed.

Catra snorted, turning to her again. “Yes, we’re gonna behead her with an ax.”

Adora shoved her lightly, hand lingering. “Fuck off.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Bow piped up. “It was charisma so—"

“In character,” Entrapta said.

“Right, sorry.” He cleared his throat.

* * *

“I’ve got an idea,” Beau said.

“Let’s hear it then,” Wildcat said, turning away from possessed She-Ra for a moment.

“Okay so,” Beau began, “Wildcat doesn’t have any magic—”

“Fuck you, I’ve got Hellish Rebuke and Thaumaturgy,” Wildcat interrupted.

Beau continued, ignoring her. “—but you know how she has like, super high charisma and persuasion being a princess and all? What if we used her to try to snap She-Ra out of this? She had to save with charisma, so if some other super charismatic thing intercepted that, maybe our friend will stop trying to murder us!”

Gemma thought for a long moment but nodded. “You know, that might actually work.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Wildcat said. “Hold on just a fucking minute. What if _I_ don’t want to do this? How would I even get close enough to do, what, flirt with her or something?”

Beau didn’t seem to pick up on her sarcastic tone and perked up. “That’s a great idea! Let’s do that!”

“We’ve got to get her away from her weapons first,” Gemma said, glancing at She-Ra and inching away. “Then you can do your thing.”

“I—” Wildcat pressed her lips together. “Fine. Okay, whatever.”

* * *

“Alrighty, that works,” Entrapta said. “I need you all to roll initiative first, including She-Ra, so you can incapacitate her.”

“Wait,” Adora said, “so are we actually doing this?”

“Yup,” Glimmer and Bow said in unison.

A smirk curling up on her lips, Catra leaned over again and muttered, “What’s the matter, Adora, you don’t want me to come and sweep you off your feet?”

Adora could feel her face burning. “No,” she bit out. “Of course not, don’t be stupid.” If she turned her face towards Catra, their noses would probably be brushing, not that Adora was thinking about that. She focused on picking up the d20 she reserved for She-Ra— a translucent die with gold leaf inside— and rolled initiative.

It hit the table and a one was staring up at her. “Shit.”

Catra leaned over and cackled. “A nat one, I guess this will be easier than we thought it’d be.”

Adora rolled her eyes but leaned back. “Whatever.”

* * *

In the next few moments, several things happened in a quick succession.

Beau shot a net at She-Ra’s sword hand, which she didn’t dodge in time. It tangled around her wrist and forced her to let go of her sword. Wildcat rushed up and grabbed it before She-Ra could and kicked She-Ra’s legs from under her. Gemma cast Hold Person at She-Ra (which she thankfully failed the save for), cutting the combat short, and Wildcat bound her with ropes.

She-Ra thrashed a few times, trying to kick at Wildcat, but it was to no avail.

Though not in control of her body, She-Ra still had her mind and felt some relief as the paralysis took over, spreading from her shoulders down. She watched as Wildcat crouched down in front of her and smirked, just out of range but still pretty damn close.

“Hey, princess,” she said smugly, her eyes glinting playfully. There was something almost seductive beneath her words as well, Wildcat was putting her charm on full blast.

If She-Ra were in control of her body still, she’d have probably been flustered. Instead, she snarled in her face, wolfish and aggressive.

“Don’t be like that, princess,” Wildcat fake pouted, batting her eyelashes as she stepped forward. “I know that’s not what you’re _really_ thinking.”

She was almost nose to nose with She-Ra now, and her lips twitched up into a small smile. “Come back to me.”

* * *

There was an awkward cough that sounded suspiciously like laughter, followed by a cooing sound. Adora looked across the table to Bow and glared. He put his hands up in surrender and pointed at Glimmer. Adora fixed her gaze on both of them.

It was just Catra’s character not Catra herself, obviously, but she was staring directly at Adora with intention as the words left her lips, as if she knew exactly what she was doing to her. Adora wasn’t sure if her face had ever been this red before.

“Wildcat, would you roll persuasion on that?” Entrapta asked, not picking up on the tension in the room. “With advantage.”

“What, why?” Adora sputtered.

“Nice,” Catra said, picking her die up.

Entrapta merely shrugged. “Your characters are practically in love, it’s pretty obvious. It’d make sense that even when possessed, She-Ra is more likely to listen to Wildcat than anyone. Don’t give me that look Adora, I may not be the best with social cues, but literally anyone can see that _something_ is eventually gonna happen between these two.”

Adora somehow blushed even harder. She refused to look over at Catra. “I— okay. Whatever.”

Catra didn’t acknowledge the conversation, she rolled her die. “First one was a six, but the second is a nineteen. That’s twenty nine total, Wildcat just charmed the _fuck_ out of She-Ra.”

Entrapta clapped, delighted. “Fantastic, that’s enough to break the charm on her then! Good job, Wildcat.”

Everyone cheered and Catra glanced cheekily at Adora. “You’re welcome.”

Adora held eye contact for a long moment, savoring Catra’s smile. As Entrapta began her narration again, she bit her lip and looked away.

* * *

As the last words left Wildcat’s lips, soft and gentle, She-Ra felt whatever had been taking over her body thrust out forcefully, and she was in control again. She blinked a few times, staring up at Wildcat and then a small, fond smile formed on her lips. “I never left,” she whispered back.

“Idiot.”

The two of them gazed at each other for a long moment, separated from time and space until they were somewhere with just the two of them. She-Ra, tied and paralyzed but never feeling more alive. Wildcat, only centimeters away and looking at her like _that_ , with so much relief and fondness that She-Ra was sure she was about to combust right then and there.

And then, abruptly, the moment ended. Beau was cheering and high-fiving Gemma, who let the paralysis spell drop in a second. “Hell yeah, we did it! Our friend is no longer trying to murder us!”

She-Ra fell forward a bit but Wildcat caught her shoulders, using her sharp claws to slash through the tight ropes. She-Ra laughed a bit. “Thanks,” she said, standing.

Wildcat shrugged. “No problem. Where would you even _be_ if I wasn’t around to save your ass all the time?”

“Hey!” exclaimed She-Ra. Still, she couldn’t disagree. The rest of the quest went smoothly after that, but She-Ra (and okay, maybe Adora) couldn’t help but let that moment replay in her mind a couple hundred more times that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, thanks for reading, next chapter coming next monday! fun fact before i decided to 5+1 this, this part was what wouldve been the full fic


	3. o true apothecary, thy drugs are quick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy monday! i hate that i used a romeo and juliet quote here too believe me

“So, let’s see what peril Catra saves Adora from today,” Entrapta said to begin their next session.

Catra cackled, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, Adora, what do I have to save your ass from this time?” she asked. Then, winking, “Not that last time wasn’t enjoyable, of course.”

“Hey!” Adora protested. “She-Ra is a strong, capable character.”

“You mean _capturable_.”

“Er, as much as I’d hate to agree with Catra over you,” Glimmer said, “She-Ra _is_ kind of getting into some sticky situations that Wildcat’s the only one able to get her out of. Super damsel-y despite being, like, the strongest player in the group. By the way, how does this keep _happening_?”

“Hey don’t look at me, I’m just the DM!” Entrapta exclaimed when they all turned to her. She laughed to herself and pounded her hands flat on the table. “So anyway, we’ve got some good stuff going today. When we left off last week, the four of you were back on the road. With more money after the previous task, you decided to continue on to your ultimate destination, the majestic kingdom of Plumeria. However, when traveling through the forest, you discovered a horde of giant spiders waiting for you in the shadows. You’re in some deep shit now so it’s time to roll initiative.”

“Let us hope She-Ra ends up with a natural one so she doesn’t do something stupid that makes us have to save her ass,” Catra said offhandedly, rolling her die. There was a smirk on her lips, and it widened when Adora turned to her.

Adora chucked aa d8 at her in mock offense. “Hey! You’re so mean to me.”

Catra caught the die easily, setting it back in Adora’s dice tray, bemused. “And yet I still save you constantly. Just roll your initiative, princess.”

“I’m a paladin,” Adora corrected, raising a brow. Still, she picked up She-Ra’s d20 and tossed it.

“Semantics,” Catra waved her off. She looked at her die and told Entrapta, “Sixteen.”

Adora watched her for another long moment but then turned to look at her roll, biting back a smile.

* * *

The spiders, having caught the entire group off guard, got a surprise round to start. If the last time they’d walked into a giant ambush was anything to go by, this was not going to be a very fun fight. Not for She-Ra, anyway.

One of them jumped down from a tree and latched onto Gemma’s leg, biting her hard. Another one attempted to shoot webbing at She-Ra, but she broke free of it quickly. As she did so, she smirked towards Wildcat. “Look at me, holding my own,” she told her mockingly.

“Uh, She-Ra there’s—” began Beau, but it was too late. Another spider came swinging down from the threes on a web, crashing into She-Ra and knocking her to the ground. Beau winced. “…There’s more spiders.”

“Take this, you disgusting bug,” Gemma yelled to the spider latching onto her leg. She cast fire ball at its face and wrinkled her nose as it let out a guttural screech and burned to a crisp. The carcass of the spider fell from her leg and Gemma took a step back. “Well, one down, like ten to go.”

Beau began to cheer, but it died in his throat as two spiders scuttled his way and began to move in a circle, building a thick opaque ball of webbing around him. It only took a few moments before it completely covered him from view and the girls all winced.

“Beau!” exclaimed a worried Gemma, who narrowly stepped out of the way of a spider coming up from behind her.

One spider jumped from a branch above She-Ra, latching onto her back and biting her multiple times. Another narrowly missed her feet in an attempt to tie them up, but in the process She-Ra fell backwards. Her head spun a bit more but the spider on her back seemed unaffected.

Thanks to her rogue abilities, Wildcat dodged out of the way of another spider targeting her, but it still managed to graze her face. She reflexively grabbed at the place it scratched and hissed.

Luckily, her turn was next and she pulled out a rapier from its sheath, first slashing at the spider with it then stabbing it with her dagger, which She-Ra hadn’t even noticed her pull out. The spider toppled, still big as Wildcat herself on its side.

Wildcat smirked, stepping back. “Well this won’t be _too_ hard.” Right after the words left her lips, a few more giant spiders scurried into the clearing and She-Ra chuckled nervously.

Wildcat looked up. “Well shit.”

She-Ra laughed again. “Psh, we’ve got this, guys. Right?”

* * *

“Motherfucker.”

Glimmer hummed in agreement, brows furrowed as she looked at the map in front of them, then at her character sheet. “Motherfucker,” she echoed Catra.

A few rounds of combat later, it was obvious they most definitely did _not_ have it in the slightest. Every time they managed to kill one spider, another one appeared in its place, ready with poison and webs, and it was wearing the party down. Like, incredibly.

Though at this point in the campaign everyone had a decent number of hit points and therefore wouldn’t be killed from a stiff wind— a lesson learned after their last campaign when Bow had played a bard, which automatically set him up for having shit HP— everyone was running pretty low. Though She-Ra tried to use Lay on Hands to heal her teammates as much as she could, the spiders kept coming and her healing pool was not infinite.

Spell slots were also running on the low side, which was not great news for Glimmer, who had chosen mostly non combative cantrips for Gemma.

Adora groaned into her arms, resting her forehead on them. She’d not put a TPK past Entrapta at this point, but even if they survived this it wasn’t going to be easy.

“What was that you said earlier about how we totally got this?” Catra teased, sounding much closer than before.

Adora peeked up at her and confirmed that Catra was leaning towards the gap at the crook of her elbow. She put her head back down and hoped it covered the blush on her face. “Whatever, I didn’t think there’d be so many spiders.

Catra snorted. Then, a hand came up to stroke her hair. “There, there,” she said in a deadpan, though her fingers were gentle. It actually felt nice.

In spite of herself, Adora giggled, leaning into the touch. “My hero,” she said dramatically.

“Not yet,” Catra said, flicking her head lightly, “you still haven’t gotten yourself into a perilous situation today.”

“Yeah, well, if you’re done flirting for a moment,” Entrapta said loudly, “ _about that_ … Roll a con save, please. You just got bitten by another spider.”

Adora grimaced, grabbing her die. “Please don’t mess up, _please_ don’t mess up— oh, you’re kidding.”

“What’d you get?” Glimmer asked.

“Three,” Adora sighed, slouching.

Entrapta laughed. “Fantastic. Er, I mean, oh no. Let me just roll these here… Yes, alright. She-Ra takes sixteen points of damage from that attack.”

Adora was quiet for a moment, pursing her lips together. Then she looked up at her friends with a nervous grin. “Well, She-Ra is now unconscious.”

“What, no!”

“We’re fucked.”

“ _Yikes_.”

Entrapta took a bite of the miniature cupcake on her plate. “Actually,” she said, chewing, “that means you’re paralyzed too. Stable but paralyzed for the next hour. Ooh boy, I was hoping we’d get to see this happen.”

“Paralyzed?! No, not again,” Adora exclaimed.

Catra cackled, tilting back in her chair for a moment before letting it fall back down. “God you should see your face right now,” she snorted.

Adora flipped her off, then sighed. “This is bad, if you haven’t picked up yet. I was the only one with any actual healing abilities. That means there’s no way for this to be undone and if someone else goes down, which is highly likely at this rate, there’s no one to bring them back either.”

A small squeak escaped Bow’s lips. “Oh god, does that mean someone could die? I don’t want any of us to die!”

“No one’s going to die,” Glimmer placated, putting her hand on his shoulder soothingly. “We’re one member down, I only have one spell slot left, and Beau and Wildcat are like half dead, yeah, but we can make it! There’s only a few spiders left.

Bow’s eyes widened even more. “That is _not_ reassuring!”

“To be fair, Sparkles _did_ say we can make it, so it kind of is,” Catra piped up.

“Well, you’ll have to find a way anyway,” Entrapta said. “It’d be kinda awkward if everyone died _here_ when I’ve got so much more planned…”

* * *

She-Ra collapsed to the ground, unmoving and the spider that bit her scurried away.

Wildcat snarled and lunged at the closest spider, once again slashing with her rapier and dagger. The spider convulsed beneath her blade and went still. She smiled at it falsely.

Next was Beau, who cried out in alarm at She-Ra’s fall. He shot two arrows at a mostly unscathed spider, sighing in relief as it fell to the ground.

Gemma turned to the spider that was still hovering near the unconscious paladin, face furious. “No one messes with _my_ friends,” she yelled. “Beau, Wildcat, brace yourselves.” They nodded and she cast Thunderwave. The ground shook below them as a thunderous force swept across the area. The branches on trees shook from the force and loose pebbles and leaves scattered. A loud _boom_ resonated across the area and Glimmer smiled a bit to herself at the outburst of power.

Though Beau and Wildcat took some damage from the spell, they were able to remain in place. The spider and the rest of its kin were not as lucky, however, and were thrown back several feet into the trees. None of the spiders didn’t so much as twitch as the spell ended, and Gemma sighed heavily.

The three of them all rushed over to She-Ra. Wildcat reached her first and knelt down, carefully pressing a hand to the base of her neck. After a few moments, she nodded, and muttered mostly to herself, “She’s alive.”

Beau sighed. “Well that’s good, but we don’t have any way to heal her. She was our healer!”

Wildcat looked back down at She-Ra’s unconscious form. She looked far more mundane when she was asleep, just a girl and not one of the best paladins to ever walk Etheria.

Sighing, Wildcat said, “I think I have something that might be able to help her. Don’t get pissed at me for having it, but I swear I didn’t even know what it even until the last village we were in.”

Gemma narrowed her eyes. “Alright,” she said slowly, “I guess if it’ll help She-Ra, but what is _it_?”

Wildcat reached into her bag and pulled out a small vial. The liquid inside was shimmery and a bright crimson, glistening in the dim moonlight. Though Wildcat’s hand was steady, the liquid seemed to almost pulsate in the vial, like a beating heart. “My father gave it to me before I left on this trip. He said that I’d know when the best time to use it would be.”

Beau gasped, leaning forward. “That’s a vitality potion.”

“Yes,” nodded Wildcat. “It can cure any disease— or poison. She-Ra has been poisoned. Do you catch where I’m going with this yet?”

Gemma rolled her eyes, “We’re not stupid. So you’ll really use the potion to help her?”

“Of course,” Wildcat nodded. She paused, then added, “I mean, if we want to get to Plumeria on time, we’ve got to keep moving tonight and dragging along She-Ra’s unconscious body would only slow us down.”

Beau looked as if he wanted to say something but closed his mouth and nodded. “Alright.”

Wildcat turned to Gemma. She shrugged and replied, “If it helps She-Ra.”

Carefully, Wildcat removed the cork from the vial and tilted She-Ra’s head up. After brushing away a fallen strand of blonde hair, Wildcat poured the potion into her mouth.

The group held their breaths for a long moment, and then She-Ra’s eyes fluttered open. She gasped and sat up, looking around for the monsters no longer present. Then, her eyes fell on Wildcat and her face broke out into a smile.

“Hey, She-Ra,” Wildcat said. “Welcome back to the world of the living. All thanks to me of course.”

Though she wanted to protest, She-Ra merely smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for the continued support, yall! next chapter coming next week. i actually havent finished 5 and the +1 and need to focus on a big bang fic coming soon so that might slow some updates after that but i will be finishing this. until next time :D


	4. move bitch (get out the way)

Adora was half finished with a garlic knot when the front door of Catra’s apartment swung open, admitting Glimmer and Bow.

“Nice of you to join us,” Catra said, brows raised.

“We’re _so_ sorry we’re late,” Bow said, out of breath. He held up a Walmart bag then said gravely, “Please accept our apology in the form of Gushers.”

Adora’s head snapped up, and her garlic knot was immediately forgotten. “Gushers?”

Catra scoffed. “Typical,” she muttered. Still, she stood up and took one of the bags from Bow and tossed it at Adora.

With a smile in thanks, Adora pulled out one of the boxes and tore into it. She tried not to read into the gesture. That was what friends did. They did things for each other. That was all, nothing else to it. She did not stare at Catra again.

“Ooh,” Entrapta said, taking another box of Gushers. “Well, no worries, we can start now.”

Mouth full of fruit snacks, she began her recap of the previous session. “Alright, so you’re still in the forest now, and it’s time to get on the road again after a less than pleasant night, where this time you had quite a run in with some giant lemurs…”

Glimmer and Bow quickly pulled out their things as quietly as one can when trying to toss a gigantic hardcover book, a huge bag of dice, and two binders full of paper onto a creaky table.

As she half paid attention, Adora turned to Catra with a small smile. Catra was already looking her way, but instead of averting her gaze, raised an eyebrow. Adora leaned closer. “Thanks,” she whispered.

Catra snorted. “No need to thank me yet, princess, we haven’t even gotten to the part where I save you yet.”

“Oh lay off already,” Adora whined. Still, she grinned and offered Catra a Gusher from the aluminum pouch.

Their fingertips brushed as Catra took it, and ridiculously, Adora’s heart caught in her throat again. They remained in unnecessarily close proximity as the game begun and Adora bit back a smile. _It doesn’t mean anything_ , Adora told herself. But she couldn’t help but wonder— what if it _did_? At the very least, they were becoming friends again, and that’s more than Adora could ever hope for.

* * *

To say the least, taking an underground “shortcut” recommended to them by some random, toothless merchant on the side of the road was one of the stupider decisions the party had made this entire journey. And there were a _lot_ of stupid decisions made— admittedly, a lot were the fault of She-Ra, but hey, the others had fully agreed to this one too so they were _all_ the morons here.

She-Ra felt a bit better reasoning this out, but it was immediately forgotten when yet another stone hit her in the head. She looked up, glaring at the crumbling cave. “Ugh.”

It was too tight to summon a shield to deflect the rocks in this tunnel, but luckily most were harmless pebbles. They were annoying, sure, but not enough for Wildcat to decide to lead the group through some other path. There was only one more day until she’d be expected in Plumeria, so they could use any shortcut, rocky or not, that they could get. She-Ra admired her ambition most of the time, but right now she just wanted to get above ground already.

It was dark down here too. Luckily, Gemma had cast dancing lights so there was at least a bit of light as they moved forward, but that didn’t stop someone from tripping on something every five minutes.

“Uh guys,” Beau said nervously from somewhere in front of She-Ra. “What if we get stuck here forever? There’s like, no end down here. We could be lost for days.”

“Thanks for the reassurance,” Wildcat replied dryly, though there was a slight tremble in her voice clear to the rest of the party. None of them mentioned it.

Gemma rolled her eyes. She-Ra couldn’t see that of course, but she could practically hear it in her friend’s voice as she said, “We’re not going to die down here! Sure it’s a bit… crammed and confusing, but we’ll have to get out eventually. Look, there’s actually a light up ahead, I think we’re at the end—”

She was abruptly cut off as the tunnel began to shake all around them. She-Ra reached to either side and braced against the wall before she could get knocked backwards from the tremble. Wildcat wasn’t as lucky and staggered back into She-Ra, letting out a small yelp when her head collided with the thick armor on She-Ra’s chest.

“What the hell was that?” she exclaimed.

She-Ra squinted at what little of the rocks she could see in the dim light. “Well, rocks fell so I think it’s rocks?” she said, confused. (Adora got a two on her perception check, She-Ra couldn’t see shit right now. Luckily, neither could Beau, but Catra was still having a good laugh.)

“There must be something outside that shifted everything above us,” Gemma called back. “The entire thing could collapse at any moment. We need to go _now_ , Wildcat, Beau, switch places so we can get her out of here fast. Now!”

“What, no, I’m fine here,” Wildcat argued back, probably crossing her arms. “I can stand my own ground myself, thank you very much. Just run already.”

Gemma scoffed. “It’s our duty to not let you die, princess,” she muttered, but continued down, supposedly to the light.

Larger rocks were falling now, more akin to the size of an apple than a seed. She-Ra wished now more than ever for the ability to summon her shield, dodging out of the way of rock as it came. Fortunately, her companions seemed to be deft enough to escape as well, but when the exit finally came into view, an entire boulder loosened and began to roll towards them.

Gemma shrieked. “Get out of the way!”

* * *

“Hm,” Entrapta said, “roll a dex save.”

The party exchanged glances.

“Who’s ready to get squashed like Flat Stanley?” Catra asked, picking up her die. She paused, turning to make eye contact with Adora. “And by that, I mean you, princess.”

Adora kicked her beneath the table and rolled She-Ra’s d20. “Oh be quiet, I’m gonna do— oh. Well uh, that’s a three.”

Catra bent over the table in a fit of giggles at that, her own die forgotten. “This is too good. Of _course_ this is happening right now.”

“You jinxed me!” Adora exclaimed. “I would’ve done fine, look what you just did!”

“Oopsie,” Catra said unapologetically. She innocuously rolled her die and grinned at Entrapta. “Eighteen for Wildcat.”

Glimmer rolled her eyes at their antics. “Twenty two.”

“Fourteen,” Bow said.

“Cool,” Entrapta nodded. “Wildcat and Gemma got high rolls, so we can average out here and say that right before the boulder is about to crush She-Ra and Beau, they’re pulled out on time and only take eight points of bludgeoning damage. With their quick reflexes, Wildcat could step out of the way, pulling She-Ra along with the same happening for Gemma and Beau.”

“And once again,” Catra said, narrating in a mocking tone, “She-Ra’s saved from peril by Princess Wildcat.”

Adora couldn’t help the smile on her lips as she said, “Yeah, whatever.”

“So when we’re out of the cave, are we actually any closer to Plumeria?” Glimmer asked Entrapta.

Oh right, Adora thought. She’d nearly forgotten about that.

“Yes, you find yourselves standing on top of a hill about two miles away from the gates of Plumeria,” Entrapta says. “You seem to be standing in a large field of flowers, and below you can see even more of them. In fact, there’s flowers all over the place. It’s even more a sign that you’ve arrived than the rose display that says ‘Welcome to Plumeria’ near the gate. Behind it, you can see the tops of tall, limestone skyscrapers. They’re obviously not called that yet, but that’s basically what they are. This is the signature architecture of Plumeria, and you can see on a farther hill that the castle is made of limestone too. The sun is nearly about to set, but you’ve made it just in time and will be able to arrive before nightfall.”

“Oh thank god,” Bow said.

“Finally!” Glimmer exclaimed.

“Time to face the real monsters,” Catra muttered.

Adora grinned at Catra. “Yep.”

Since the entire campaign had been built on the premise of the group getting Princess Wildcat to Plumeria, and that meant that the campaign was shifting into the second arc. Despite being more tech savvy than anything, Entrapta’s campaigns always had the most exciting second acts Adora had ever seen, and she couldn’t wait.

“Well,” she said, “what’re we waiting for? Let’s go meet the royals.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to be continued! sorry it's a bit short, im in trc big bang crunch right now and havent finished the next chapter but fear not it will come. we're getting near the end of this little fic which is both exciting and sad. thanks for the support of my dumb borderline niche au, until next time!


	5. in fire and blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow ok this is a long one?? might as well since its the last before adora saves catra though. enjoy <33

The palace of Plumeria reminded She-Ra of a huge outdoor greenhouse. Sure there was the castle itself, but most of the rooms had large, open windows and many of the rooms were just an outdoor patio. It was beautiful, or it would be if She-Ra could stop sneezing.

She might’ve been an all mighty, heroic and badass paladin, but she was also, much to the chagrin of not only herself but the rest of her party as well, allergic to pollen. Like, really, _really_ allergic to pollen.

As a few women in the court led She-Ra and Gemma through the grounds of the official palace gardens, they made no efforts to conceal their disgusted glances every time She-Ra so much as sniffled or wiped at her eyes. They gave her disproving glances and tsked behind their fans, floating down the cobblestone in their light chiffon dresses. She-Ra tried not to sigh. Instead, she stood straighter and tried to meet their gazes directly, challenging them.

Her paladin armor shone in the afternoon light despite the dust and scratches it had gained during their journey, reminding her of her position. This tour was for formalities’ sake, it didn’t actually matter whether Queen Perfuma’s ladies in waiting actually liked her or not. She-Ra was here for Wildcat, and Wildcat only.

Gemma, having sensed She-Ra’s unease, squeezed her hand comfortingly. “It’ll be over soon, don’t worry,” she whispered.

“Easy for you to say,” She-Ra replied. “They actually _like_ you. Can we just go already? I hate it out here.”

One of the women looked up sharply, glaring coolly at She-Ra. (Adora’s stealth check had been so low that She-Ra was practically yelling to the whole of Plumeria.) She opened her mouth to reply but suddenly one of the other courtiers shrieked up ahead.

She-Ra’s gaze shot away from the woman, her hand immediately going to the hilt of her sword. It was hard to see what was going on for a moment as the remaining women shoved past her, scurrying back towards the castle, but She-Ra and Gemma shoved past them.

A tall man wearing a long, dark cloak was standing with two large scimitars coated in blood. His eyes glowed a mirthful, bloodthirsty red and his teeth were sharper than a human’s should’ve been. She-Ra wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it, but she immediately started running at him anyway, slashing at him with precision. Her sword gleaned off effortlessly, and her eyes widened. _Oh shit_ , she thought.

* * *

“Oh shit,” Adora muttered, staring down at the table.

Next to her, Catra chuckled. “Well this will be interesting, I guess. Hope you don’t die.”

Adora elbowed her but didn’t disagree. Entrapta was a bit unpredictable with her DMing, no one could ever predict what exactly might come next. At least they got to fight something again though, social situations weren’t quite She-Ra’s strong suit. At one point, at the very start, she’d even had a negative charisma modifier.

“What the hell!” exclaimed Glimmer. “Adora rolled a seventeen, that should’ve gone. How high is this dude’s armor class, twenty five?”

Entrapta merely smiled, shrugging. “It’s time for initiative, why don’t you find out for yourself?”

Glimmer sighed and picked up her d20. Adora did the same.

As she was about to roll it in her closed hand, Catra leaned in and put her chin on Adora’s shoulder. “Hope you roll well,” she said lowly, warmth tickling Adora’s neck.

She dropped the die in surprise, gasping a bit. Her brain was filled with siren sounds and static, unsure how to proceed from here. Catra had clearly done this purposefully, but _why_? Did she know Adora liked her and was fucking with her because of that? Adora thought they were past cruel, petty things like that. Maybe she didn’t actually realize what it was doing and she was just comfortable around Adora then? It seemed anything was possible when it came to Catra.

Adora turned to look at her, brows furrowed.

Catra was staring at the die in interest. “You’d better hope this guy rolls a nat one,” she muttered. “Otherwise he’s about to kick She-Ra’s ass.”

The die had landed on four. “He’d better,” Adora winced. She leaned back a bit. “Any chance Wildcat’s done with her duties and can conveniently come outside?”

Catra shrugged. “We’ll see, princess.” Much to Adora’s disappointment— though a relief for her dangerously pounding heart— Catra moved back and slouched into her chair with crossed arms, as if nothing had happened. The way she did that all the time was infuriating.

Adora looked back up, willing away the blush and clearing her throat. Glimmer and Bow had that look on their faces again, surprise bordering on a smile. Adora glared back and told Entrapta her initiative roll.

“Great,” Entrapta said. “So first up is Gemma, then scimitar man, She-Ra, and then the castle guard who was accompanying the group. Glimmer, go!”

* * *

Immediately, Gemma hurled a magic missile at the man. Luckily, it hit, unlike She-Ra’s sword. The man stumbled back a bit, some blood starting to drip from his nose, but otherwise seemed intact. Gemma cursed, firing another magic missile of higher level.

The man growled, his eyes brightening even more and he lunged at Gemma, scimitars flashing in the sun. She managed to avoid the first slash, but the second and third hit. Blood seeped through the armor plating on Gemma’s arm, and she winced in pain, her other hand immediately going to press against it.

“Gemma!” exclaimed She-Ra.

“I’ll be okay, you can heal me afterwards,” Gemma reassured her. “Take this guy down.”

The man laughed. “I would not be so sure about that.”

“Shut up,” She-Ra said. “No one hurts my friends and gets away with it.” She ran at him again and slashed wildly with her sword.

It ended up pushing back the hood to reveal a gaunt, deathly pale face. The man’s red eyes were sunken in and veins protruded from the skin, and his lips were curled into a sneer. Though his cheek was bleeding from the cut of She-Ra’s sword, what oozed from the wound was a dark green ichor. What he might’ve been, She-Ra couldn’t guess, but she knew at least two things for sure. The first: He was not human anymore. The second: She was going to take this guy down.

Brushing off her surprise, She-Ra swung her sword again. It missed again and she grunted in frustration. “Can’t you just die?”

Before he could answer, the castle guard ran at the man with a spear. The point was sharp, aimed for the throat as he charged, but when it came close, the man knocked the spear from his hand and it clattered to the ground. The guard looked horrified, glancing at his discarded weapon and then at the man in front of him with his blood soaked swords, and stepped away quickly.

Gemma gritted her teeth and turned to She-Ra. “Might want to brace yourself,” she warned. Then, she snapped weakly and cast Thunderwave. As a result of a sorcerer point, the boom of thunder evaded She-Ra, leaving her unmoved and undamaged, but scimitar man and the guard were not as lucky.

The man roared in pain as he landed in a tangle of roses. Behind them, the guard made a noise of offense. “You couldn’t have protected me as well?”

“You wanted to get away, you’re now away,” Gemma bit out. “You want to go be useful instead and get help?”

“Wildcat,” She-Ra said quickly. “Go get Princess Wildcat.”

The guard furrowed his brows. “Are you sure? I mean—”

“The princess is one of the best fighters in this entire city, tell her She-Ra and Gemma need her,” She-Ra said challengingly.

The guard cowered a bit under her gaze and nodded. “R-right, of course.”

(He didn’t move yet, as that wasn’t how Dungeons and Dragons worked, but She-Ra knew that he would. Adora rolled way too high on her intimidation check for him to refuse.)

Much to She-Ra and Gemma’s surprise, the man with the scimitars did not stand up. He didn’t come and run at them to attack again. Instead, he surprised them and launched a spell of his own. Immediately, She-Ra was surrounded by fire again, and she felt like she was burning alive. She might as well have been.

She screamed in pain, unable to move or even think. All she could do was scream. Everything was red and burning, she could smell her flesh begin to burn and cook, and if she weren’t so consumed by the pain, She-Ra would probably feel nauseated.

Somewhere nearby, Gemma must’ve been screaming too. She wasn’t sure, it felt like she was underwater, and there was no choice but to sink further into the scalding hot pain.

* * *

“Alright, psychic damage time,” Entrapta hummed. Much to the horror of Adora and Glimmer, she picked up four d8s and began rolling.

“Yikes,” Bow said, grimacing.

“Well that’s not ideal,” Glimmer sighed. “This guy has some pretty strong illusionary magic.”

Catra merely snorted. “Can we pan back to Wildcat so she can go save their asses yet?”

“Actually, yes,” Entrapta said. “First, twenty one damage for She-Ra and seventeen for Gemma. Mark that down, thank you. Now switching back to Wildcat and Beau, you’ve been on a tour with the queen of Plumeria, Perfuma.”

“Isn’t that just Scorpia’s girlfriend?” Catra pointed out, brows raised.

“Yes, but it sounds like a good royalty name,” Entrapta said.

“She’s got a point,” Bow shrugged.

“I know I do. Anyway, she’s showing you guys around and discussing politics and whatnot when suddenly a guard rushes into the room. He’s limping and has blood all over his face, and he’s shaking,” Entrapta continued. “He walks up and says there’s an assassin who’s come to kill the visiting princess and that She-Ra and Gemma have requested her help outside. He attacked their group in the gardens and seems very powerful.”

Catra snorted. “Wildcat doesn’t even bother to stick around and talk to Perfuma, she just goes out to find the garden.”

“Beau follows her.”

“Hm, make an investigation roll to get there, Catra,” Entrapta said, looking through her binder of papers. “Advantage since Beau is with her.”

Catra picked up her crimson die and tossed it twice. “Okay, thirteen, but add four, seventeen.”

Entrapta nodded. “Okie dokie, it takes a few minutes but you’re able to get outside. It doesn’t take long to find the commotion. Wildcat follows the screaming of her friends to find scimitar man charging past She-Ra and Gemma, who are both on the ground screaming at nothing. Roll a perception?”

They both rolled their dice, and Bow groaned. “Three. Catra, I hope you did better than that.”

Catra smirked. “Twenty.”

“Cool. Beau is blinded by the brightness of the sun. But for Wildcat, you can see he’s muttering something that’s keeping the two under a spell. It’s concentration from what you can tell because though he’s walking away and towards the palace doors, he isn’t making any moves to attack any of the other guards who came outside with you.”

“Wildcat pulls out her daggers and sneak attacks,” Catra said.

Adora gave her a look. “Are you sure about that?”

Catra shrugged. “Worried, princess?”

“Well I mean, should I _not_ be?”

“We’ll have to see,” Catra said, flashing her a bright grin. Adora forced herself to look away, heart pounding.

“Alright, roll your attack and damage, Catra,” Entrapta said. “And then after this, it’s initiative time!”

Catra leaned into Adora, batting her lashes. “Wish me luck, fair maiden.”

Adora forced her face into vague amusement, though she knew it was useless with the way her face burned hotter than the invisible flames consuming her character right now. She picked up a napkin and tossed it on Catra’s nose, giggling as her friend batted it away. “A token of favor.”

Catra shoved it into her pocket. “How thoughtful.” Adora thought that’d be the end of it, but then Catra took her hand, looking into Adora’s eyes as she placed a light kiss to her knuckles.

Adora was pretty sure she was going to combust. “Heh. Yeah. N-no problem,” she squeaked.

There was a long pause as the two stared at each other, but they were startled out of it when Entrapta clapped her hands. “Awwww, very cute guys! Fantastic parallel to how She-Ra and Wildcat are in love. Anyway, let’s get back to the game, shall we?”

* * *

After what might’ve been seconds or hours, it stopped. She-Ra fell forward. Luckily, she’d ended up crouched on her knees already, so it took seconds for her forehead to press to the ground. Everything hurt but the ground was somehow cool.

She-Ra was now aware of someone running up and putting a hand carefully on her shoulder. She expected to hiss in pain, for there to be dark marks and ugly burns all over her body, but all she found was Wildcat’s hand on her unscorched shoulder padding.

Then, Wildcat herself came into her vision. Her hands cupped She-Ra’s face, brows furrowed in concern as she scanned the paladin’s face. “Are you alright?” she murmured. “I came as soon as I could, that bastard was just staring at you and laughing and you were fucking screaming like you were being torn apart or something. The fuck happened?”

She-Ra shrugged weakly but didn’t try to pull away. Despite her exhaustion, her heart pounded and her skin tingled where Wildcat’s fingers brushed. Without really thinking, she pressed her forehead to Wildcat’s and closed her eyes. “Guy with swords crashed the garden tour, I don’t think he liked it. So I poked him with my sword. I think. Er, it didn’t go well.”

Wildcat shook her head, laughing. “You’re such an idiot. I’m glad you’re okay though, that guy was not very pleasant. A huge dick.”

“Yeah, me too,” She-Ra said. She opened her eyes, wincing. “Uh, that you’re okay, I mean.”

Wildcat didn’t laugh, like She-Ra expected her to. Instead, she just gave her a soft, small smile. She-Ra felt a tug in her chest, warm and dizzying and she moved closer to Wildcat. She was almost sure they were about to kiss, when they were suddenly startled apart by Beau, who shouted, “Oh my god! Are you guys alright?!”

She-Ra opened her eyes and pulled back more, a small, sheepish smile on her lips. Wildcat took her hands and squeezed them tight. On the walk to the castle infirmary, she didn’t let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for reading! gotten so much feedback on this story and it's been so fun to write. one chapter to go :D


	6. she-ra rushes in (again, but better)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys, so sorry this is kind of late, i had to write it all today and it ended up... very very super fucking ridiculously long. like nearly 6k words long. oops. but whatever i guess its technically still monday in uhhh hawaii? yeah let's pretend it's not 2am and i was able to stick to my schedule the entire time. enjoy!

“So it’s the night after the failed assassination attempt on Princess Wildcat,” Entrapta began her narration. She put her arms on the table to lean forward dramatically, not seeming to notice the tomato sauce that caught on her shirt sleeve. “Wildcat is in her chambers, which are now heavily guarded after the earlier incidents. She’s a target now, after all. No one’s been allowed in or out, even any food requests are delivered to the guards outside and given directly. Has Wildcat tried to do anything about this?”

Catra rolled her eyes. “Of course. I demand the presence of She-Ra to the guard outside.”

“The guard you ask, a young man about the age of twenty five who has been guarding your doors for the past few nights, gives Wildcat an apologetic look and tells her to remain inside. His hand is going for his sword and it’s clear he is willing to go to extreme measures in order to keep you inside,” Entrapta said.

“I want to roll intimidation on him,” Catra said, amused. She leaned back and batted her eyes jokingly at Adora, who was watching silently. “What would I do without my favorite knight, after all?”

Adora felt her face warm, because of course. It seemed with every new session, her crush on Catra got even worse, reaching new levels with each borderline flirtatious joke, each smile and light touch. Still, she cleared her throat and replied in a similar tone, “Paladin, actually.”

“Close enough, princess,” Catra shrugged, picking up her d20. At Entrapta’s nod, she tossed it on the table, lips pressed together.

Adora leaned over and watched the die roll to a stop, an eight staring up at them. Catra swore and Adora laughed. “Don’t worry, She-Ra will find a way to sneak in anyway,” she said, patting Catra’s hand.

Catra’s head snapped up, her lips parting. She seemed unsure what to say for a moment but then her mouth slid into a smirk. “She’d better.”

“Ahem,” Entrapta said loudly. “This is always lovely to witness, ladies, I’m sure once you finally have a nice talk, you’ll be a fantastic couple that can even rival Glimmer and Bow, but I’d prefer you engage in your— what did Scorpia call it, heart eyes? Yes, that’s it, heart eyes. Please do that on your own time.”

Adora felt like she was about to combust. She stole a glance at Catra in her periphery, only to find Catra watching back. They both looked away quickly and Adora willed her heart to stop beating so fast. Still, she couldn’t get that look she saw in Catra’s face out of her mind even as Catra and Entrapta began discussing the interaction between Wildcat and the guard.

Catra didn’t have a bad reaction to Entrapta’s comment, it was almost the same as Adora’s own. Sure she kinda glared, but Adora recognized it as a flustered kind of glare, not a legitimately pissed off one. That meant something, didn’t it? It had to. At the very least, it meant that even if Catra knew about Adora’s… crush, she didn’t mind too much. _Maybe it means she likes you too_ , a traitorous piece of her subconscious whispered.

Adora pretended not to hear it. Still, that could not prevent the aching hope that snuck in.

“So after finally agreeing to at least send a note to your party members,” Entrapta was saying when Adora’s brain was done imagining things, “Wildcat is left alone. Only a minute later, you hear a knock at your door.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Bow stage whispered to Glimmer. “It’s probably a trap.”

Catra snorted. “Obviously it’s a trap. Wildcat goes to the door though. She’s kind of already expecting company.”

“But this soon?” Adora asked. “And you said She-Ra was the idiot.”

“Well maybe Wildcat just wants to see She-Ra,” Catra said, raising an eyebrow.

_It’s just your characters and it doesn’t mean anything,_ Adora scolded herself, trying to remain composed. She wasn’t a complete idiot, it was clear that there was… something going on between She-Ra and Wildcat and even the DM could see it. But that was in D&D, in the real world, there was no way Catra liked Adora. Fiction was not reality. Still, that small voice came back, whispering there _was_ something there.

“Well, when Wildcat opens the door, it’s definitely not She-Ra,” Entrapta said. “Instead, it’s Beau. Make a perception check?”

Bow’s mouth opened in confusion, but Glimmer shushed him quickly. Adora watched Entrapta curiously as the DM held back a giggle. Something big was definitely about to happen, Adora held her breath.

Catra rolled her die, the sound of plastic tumbling across the wood the only sound as the rest of the group watched in anticipation. “Seventeen?” she said, looking to Entrapta.

Entrapta finally let a giggle loose. “Alright, so it definitely looks like Beau, but there’s something off about him. You notice he’s a bit smudgy on the edges, and you don’t remember him being more than inch or two taller than him.”

“Oh shit,” Bow stage whispered, eyes wide and mouth in the shape of an O. Adora silently agreed.

Entrapta continued, “He steps inside and says that something urgent happened and you have to come with him. Before you can reply, he grabs your wrist and you’re in the hallway. The guards are all on the floor, knocked out cold, though the one you sent with a message is nowhere to be seen. Then, the edges get blurrier, and it’s no longer Beau standing there with you. It’s the man from the assassination attempt, or at least someone who looks identical to him. Strength check, please.”

Both picked up a die and Adora watched Catra’s brows furrow in anticipation. It was unfairly adorable, she looked away. Catra groaned though, making Adora look again. “Three, what the hell is with low rolls today?”

“Well, this guy got a ten so he easily drags you along and down the hallway!” Entrapta replied. “Phew, almost thought he wouldn’t succeed there, then where would the high stakes go?”

Adora tilted her head. “High stakes?”

“These high stakes,” Entrapta said. “He drags Wildcat down the hall and into another one, which seems oddly empty. There’s usually a few guards around even so late at night, but every room you pass through, there’s no one. Finally, you reach the kitchen doors, where the servants enter and exit. The man halts and turns around to face you, muttering something under his breath. Make a constitution saving throw, please.”

Catra winced but nodded. “God, something bad is _definitely_ about to happen,” she muttered. Then, turning to Adora, “Got any more good luck tokens, my heroic paladin?”

Adora giggled, ignoring the way Glimmer rolled her eyes on her other side. In a dramatic voice she said, “I fear I’ve no more napkins to bestow, princess. But here, have this piece of plastic in its stead.” She picked up her d20 and, without really thinking about it, pressed it into Catra’s hand, fingers lingering far longer than necessary.

Catra didn’t say anything for a moment, looking genuinely surprised. “Oh,” she finally said. Was she blushing? Oh yeah, she was _definitely_ blushing. Adora hoped she hadn’t just crossed another line. Luckily, instead of yanking her hand away though, Catra finally smiled. “Thanks, princess.” She cleared her throat this time. “If this rolls badly, I’m going to kick your ass.”

Adora merely shrugged, grinning and ignoring the dizzy fluttering in her chest. “I’m sure you will.”

Catra rolled the die and the group watched in anticipation. The one glistened in the afternoon light, but miraculously the die turned again and the number sixteen stared back instead. “I’ve got plus one there, so that’s seventeen?”

“Ah, that’s good!” Entrapta said enthusiastically. “If you hadn’t gotten above fifteen, things would’ve been kinda bad. Only twenty seven points of psychic damage for you!”

“Wait _what_ ,” Catra practically screeched. Adora had to bite down a laugh as Catra glared across the table at Entrapta, grabbing her character sheet roughly to mark down the points.

“Hey now, that’s only half of the damage!” Entrapta said cheerfully.

Catra stared. “That’s _half_? Are you trying to kill her? Wait, no, I know the answer to that. Ugh, well I’ve only got like fifteen hit points left.”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I guess you do. Either way, his spell knocks you out and no one sees as he picks you up and carries your unconscious body to a wagon,” Entrapta shrugged. “Alrighty, so panning to She-Ra—”

Catra groaned loudly, putting her head on the table. Adora patted her shoulder. “Hey, at least my die worked,” she joked, watching Catra fondly. Her hair was a dark bronze in the sunlight, stunning as ever, skin smooth under Adora’s fingertips.

“Yeah, but I still ended up kidnapped,” Catra said. “Just walked right in and got taken, like she’s She-Ra or something.”

Adora’s thumb was rubbing circles into Catra’s shoulder but it stopped. Catra looked up as Adora pouted, exclaiming, “Hey! That’s rude.”

“True though.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Adora said. She turned to Entrapta. “Anyway, you were saying?”

* * *

When She-Ra arrived in the hallway of Wildcat’s rooms, the note holding her loopy scrawl in hand, it quickly became clear that something was _very_ wrong. She’d thought it odd when there were no guards approaching when she made her way to this wing of the castle, but now she stared down at multiple, knocked out cold, and the door wide open.

She-Ra sped up from a stride to a jog, calling out for Wildcat. “Wildcat? Princess?”

She bent down in front of one of the guards, casting Lay on Hands. The woman groaned, blinking deliriously as she came to, and her brows furrowed when she saw Adora. “Sir She-Ra,” she said, surprised. “Wh-what’s happened? My guards—”

“I’m not sure,” She-Ra said, wincing. “I received a note a few minutes ago from the princess but when I arrived… Wildcat— er, her Highness— is gone.”

The guard’s eyes darkened. “We must alert the captain of the guard immediately. We have no idea where she might’ve escaped to. Damn princess, damn tieflings.”

She-Ra’s eyes sharpened. “Hold on, you think Wildcat did this? Are you out of your mind? This isn’t even Wildcat’s fighting style! She’s a rogue, not a magic user, look at this. You were all incapacitated by magical means and the door is wide open still, wherever Wildcat went, it was not willingly.” She realized her voice had been rising with each word, and she looked down, embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I’m just… worried. While you find the captain, I’d like to find the rest of my party so we can find our friend.”

The guard nodded, silent and a bit guilty looking. “Of course. I’ll just be going then.”

As the guard hurried down the hall, She-Ra glanced into the room again. After a scan, she noticed a small note tucked neatly under a flower vase next to the door. She picked it up and realized that it wasn’t even paper she held, but an apparition. There was a message in dark, bold scrawl that made She-Ra’s stomach plummet.

**You should’ve let us take her earlier**. **Keep watch of tomorrow’s chatter for your last view. -PRIME**

She-Ra’s hands shook as she read the message. She stepped back and willed herself to focus. _Find Gemma and Beau_ , she reminded herself. When she backed out of the room and down the hallway, it was in a sprint.

Wildcat might’ve been the one saving her more often than not, but it was time to actually do her job. Protect the princess. Her friend. Her… something else. _I’m coming, Wildcat._

* * *

“Okay,” Entrapta said a few minutes later, “it’s the next day and you three are sitting around in the garden with some courtiers. The queen told you not to worry and let the guards handle it and find Wildcat. You’ve been anxiously awaiting any news for the entire afternoon.”

“Are there cupcakes?” Bow asked. “If there’s cupcakes, Beau has one.”

“She-Ra’s pacing around waiting for an update on Wildcat since they weren’t allowed to go,” Adora said.

“Awww, she’s worried?” Catra teased.

“Of course she is,” Adora said, affronted. “They’re… you know.”

Catra raised an eyebrow. “Do I, Adora? What’re you implying here?”

Glimmer sighed. “That She-Ra and Wildcat are entirely in love and we all know it. Anyway, Gemma’s talking to the courtiers and trying to get information out of them. Is there anyone important?”

She and Entrapta began talking, Bow interjecting a few times, but Catra remained fixated on Adora. Adora turned to her, confused. “What?”

“So,” Catra said, “ _do_ you think She-Ra and Wildcat are in love?”

Adora felt her heartrate pick up again for no goddamn reason. “Er, well, I mean. Would you be mad if I said yes?”

Catra studied her carefully. “No, I’d agree with you. They obviously do a lot for each other. Their interactions are straight out of a trashy fan fiction, sometimes.”

“Y-yeah, totally,” Adora said, trying her best to hold Catra’s gaze. “They’re just in love. I-I think that they have been for a while, it was never just directly shown.”

Catra hummed in agreement. “Strange how that happened, huh? Says something about us, I guess.”

Before Adora could shove her foot in her mouth and say something stupid— probably something like _haha, so strange! Doesn’t say something like I am ridiculously into you and literally everyone knows it, that’d be insane! Do you want to make out with me?_ — Entrapta spoke up.

“They sure are! Speaking of Wildcat, a guard rushes into the room and comes up to the group,” she said. Then, clearing her throat, she said in a gravely accent, “There has been a report of rumors regarding Wildcat’s whereabouts among some in the city.”

“And we’d care about gossip, why?” Glimmer replied in her Gemma voice.

“They saw her leaving with a man who fit the description of the assassin from yesterday. One baker claims to have run into them as they left the city, said he gave him a message to relay to Sir She-Ra,” Entrapta said. Then, in a lower, more eery voice, “ _In a fort beyond the mountains but no further than the sea, if you wish to find your love, you must come and find me.”_

“Oooh, spooky,” Catra said.

“Oh god, is this a riddle? We’re terrible at riddles!” Bow exclaimed. “Guess we better say goodbye to Wildcat now…”

Glimmer elbowed him lightly. “Hey, no, we’ve got this! The party will figure it out and go get Wildcat. Simple enough.”

* * *

Some AP English Literature class level analysis of everything and map research later, the trio was hiking through the coastal mountains, feeling impossibly small.

“Are you sure this is where this ‘Prime’ has take her?” She-Ra asked warily.

“Of course!” Beau replied. “There’s only one really castle-y landform between the mountains and the Etherian Sea, that’s got to be it.” He paused for a moment, breathing heavily. “Whew, this altitude doesn’t mess around.”

“Is it really that simple though?” Gemma added. She led the group, dancing lights in the palm of her hand and a pack slung over her shoulders. Having the best survival skills of the three, they’d elected her as the mission’s leader. “Why would he give such a simple riddle to find her? It’s got to be a trick. Or a trap for us, or something.”

She-Ra let out a nervous laugh. “Well, I think we’re about to find out. We’re almost there.”

She nodded ahead as they stepped out of a forest of evergreens. On a hill a few thousand feet away sat a stone cold fortress, built high and towering above the valley. It was a miracle that they couldn’t see it further away. Around the dark stone were tightly coiled vines, shackles grown over every inch of the tower.

“Seems fitting I guess,” Beau said. “You’ve got to admit though, this is kinda cool. It’s like a fairy tale!”

“How’re we even supposed to get up there?” She-Ra asked. “It looks _pretty_ big, to me. We could have all the rope in the world and there’s no way we could get up there.”

Gemma sighed. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Let’s go.”

They continued walking towards the tower, and with each step forward, She-Ra’s stomach wound into tighter knots. Eagerness, anxiety, she wasn’t sure where one ended and the other began. All she knew was one thing: they were close.

Even as monsters jumped out from trees and sprouted from the ground, She-Ra was trained on one thought alone. _We’re going to save Wildcat_.

Soon enough, they stood at the base of the tower. They were worn out and ready for a nap, the sun was beginning to rise again and they’d traveled through the entire night. If She-Ra wasn’t careful, she’d probably fall over on the spot. Still, seeing the tower up close shot a new burst of energy through her.

“Alright, let’s figure out how to get up this thing,” she announced.

Gemma shot her a look of incredulity. “Are you crazy? She-Ra, please sit for just a minute. We want to get to Wildcat just as much as you do, but are you really in the best state for it right—”

“No,” She-Ra interrupted. “We’ve waited long enough, I don’t even know if Wildcat’s still _alive_ up there. You guys can rest if you want, but I’m getting up there, no matter what it takes.”

There was a long pause, and Gemma and Beau shared a look. Finally, Gemma sighed. “No, of course we’re with you. Stars above, you’re so stubborn sometimes.”

She-Ra gave her a small smile. “Guess I am.”

Then, she put her foot on one of the bricks and tried to hoist herself up. A vine immediately shot out towards her wrist, sharp and prickly, and She-Ra jumped off with a yelp. “Okay, that’s out,” she said, huffing.

“Hm,” Gemma said. “I guess I can try to use fire or something?”

“Worth a shot,” Beau said. “If it doesn’t work, I can set an explosion or something!”

She-Ra nodded. “Good plan. Gemma?”

Gemma nodded. She dispelled her dancing lights and cast fire ball, aiming it at the bottom most vines. There was a searing sound as it hit, and Beau began to cheer, but after a few moments the fire sizzled out. The vine was charred where her fire hit, but within moments it started turning green again. She sighed. “It was worth a shot, I guess. Beau?”

Next, Beau pulled his quiver off his back and searched through his assortment of arrows. A few seconds later, he made a noise of triumph and held one up. There was something small and metal at the tip instead of an arrowhead, and Beau grinned. “Step back, ladies. This is going to be a bit massive.”

With that, they stepped back to a distance Beau deemed acceptable and he nocked the arrow. He squinted, aiming, and let it fly. The following explosion made She-Ra surprised that the arrow hadn’t gotten rid of the entire tower itself.

The trio swatted away smoke and ran over to the tower again, examining where Beau had shot his arrow.

Just as it had with the fire, the vines seemed a bit scorched when they approached but almost immediately returned to its natural color. The vines looked like they’d never even been touched, despite the charred and crumbling stone beneath.

Beau pouted. “Aw man,” he said. “That was one of my favorite arrows.”

Gemma patted his shoulder. “We can help you make another one. For now, though, we’re kind of out of ideas. Anything else you guys can think of?”

She-Ra sighed, glaring at the vines. “Why can’t I just, y’know, slice it with my sword or something? That’d be _so_ much easier.”

Gemma let out a tired laugh. “Try it anyway and see what happens I guess. Can’t hurt.”

“Yeah, here goes absolutely nothing,” She-Ra said. She unsheathed her sword and swung lazily at the tower and its vines. Much to her surprise, the sword made a dent in the thick vines, and the recovery was much slower than with the fire and explosion.

Blinking a few times, She-Ra’s head shot up, and she looked at her friends. “Did you guys see that?”

Beau nodded silently, mouth agape. Gemma rubbed her eyes in disbelief. “Are you _serious_? That’s all it took? Ugh.”

“I don’t know why though,” She-Ra said. What kind of half assed quest was this? Still, having no better approach, she swung again at the vines. Again and again until a section fell to the ground, limp. She looked at the slowly growing vines and then up at the tower. “Well, guess this is our way up. Let’s go, guys.”

Beau squeaked. “Erm, I think I’ll stay on the ground and keep a look out. Have fun and come down soon as you can, yeah?”

“Beau, are you sure?” Gemma asked. “I know you’re afraid of heights, but we need you to figure out whatever’s waiting for us up there.”

She-Ra nodded. “We need you, Beau.”

Beau shrugged. “Shout out the window if you need me, I guess. Just go, with just the two of you we can help Wildcat sooner.”

She-Ra wanted to convince him otherwise, but his jaw was set. They weren’t going to get him to go anywhere. Glancing at Gemma, She-Ra knew that her friend knew this as well. Sighing, she shook her head. “Fine. We’ll be back soon as possible. You ready, Gemma?”

Gemma shrugged. She glanced once more at Beau and then the tower. “Yeah, let’s go get her.”

* * *

“Adora, Glimmer, guess what,” Entrapta said. “Strength checks!”

“Oh boy,” Glimmer said, wincing. “Gemma’s not really the muscle of the group here…”

Entrapta shrugged, flipping through her notes. “Strength check, oh noodly sorceress.”

Glimmer huffed a laugh but rolled her die. Adora went to pick up her own, then remembered Catra still had her d20.

“Hey, can I get my d20 so I can do this strength check?” she asked, shifting to face Catra.

Catra held the die between her index finger and thumb, having idly been rolling it in her fingers as the others hashed out their scene. She met Adora’s eyes. “Oh, this old thing? I’m not sure if you do want to use it, can’t save me from kidnapping so who’s to say it’ll help you climb?”

Adora smiled, shaking her head. She reached for the die, but Catra moved her hand away and instead Adora’s hand found Catra’s wrist. Beneath her fingers she could feel the steady rhythm of Catra’s pulse. Neither spoke for a long moment, then Adora was pulling away, stuttering out _something_ or other.

Catra, on the other hand, only smiled. Not her playful smirk, but something softer, admiring. “I’ve got an even better idea,” she said. Then, not even looking away, she picked up her own crimson d20 and placed it in Adora’s now free hand, pressing their skin together the way Adora had. “Lucky die in your hands.”

The air in Adora’s lungs dissipated. She knew she was staring like a moron but couldn’t care less. _What does it mean?_ She watched as Catra merely winked and turned to say something to Bow.

Adora watched her for a moment then shook her head, trying to get some semblance of control back. She took a deep breath and rolled Catra’s die. “Natural twenty,” she said, surprised.

“Told you it’s lucky,” Catra purred, looking smug as ever.

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks, I guess,” Adora said.

Entrapta looked up from her notes. “Fantastic. So I take it She-Ra goes up first, yes?”

Adora glanced at Glimmer, who nodded. “Yep. I’ve got the sword.”

“Cool. So the two of you start to make your way up the tower slowly, She-Ra hacking away the vines in their way. Eventually, you near the top where you see the window ledge…”

* * *

She-Ra hacked at the last vines coiling around the window and reached blindly for the ledge. Some thorns from the vines around her cut path scratched at her bare arm, but She-Ra could barely feel it beneath the exhaustion and adrenaline.

“We’re— here—” she panted to Gemma, forcing herself to _push_. A few moments later, She-Ra got her elbows into the window. “Wildcat?” she shouted, squinting around the dark room inside. She couldn’t see anything but the shadow of a bedframe in the center of the room. After a bit of struggling, She-Ra flopped through the window and onto the ground.

Gemma followed a few seconds later, breathing heavily. “Let’s never do that again,” she said, slouching against the sill.

“Agreed,” She-Ra said. “Can you cast dancing lights in here? It’s too dark for me to see anything and I don’t know if Wildcat’s even in here. It’s too quiet.”

“Yeah,” Gemma muttered. “Just give me a second.”

She-Ra nodded in the dark. “Of course.”

They sat there for a long minute, the only sounds being their breathing. From below, Beau shouted, “Uh, are you two alive?”

Gemma sighed. “Right,” she muttered. She-Ra heard shuffling and then Gemma was leaning out the window again. “We’re okay, Beau!”

“Where’s Wildcat?”

“We don’t know yet! We’re about to check it out,” Gemma yelled down. She turned back inside and cast dancing lights across the room.

The room was still dim but it was light enough now that She-Ra could see more than vague silhouettes. They were in a bedroom that looked untouched for a millennia, cobwebs and dust coating the bare wooden floor and the bedframe.

But then She-Ra looked closer at the bed and saw an unconscious figure lying on the covers. She ran over quickly despite her aching muscles. “Gemma, can you move the lights over here? There’s someone— oh my god.”

She-Ra stopped in her tracks as Wildcat’s face was illuminated in the light. She looked untouched, if they weren’t here and everything hadn’t happened, She-Ra might’ve even believed that Wildcat was simply asleep. But her breathing was too slow, her skin too pale, everything too still. Encasing Wildcat was a sheer greenish glow, like a bubble. Some sort of spell, undoubtedly. It was probably what was keeping Wildcat asleep. Propped next to her was another magical note. She-Ra picked it up carefully, dread filling her every cell as she recognized the scrawl from the last note.

**You’ve found her, but do you really HAVE her, She-Ra? You can wake her, but do you have the assurance needed? I highly doubt it. I wish you luck regardless, you’d need it. -PRIME**

She-Ra growled in frustration. Whoever this _Prime_ was, she wanted to slice them up into a billion pieces if their paths ever crossed. Still, she was unsure what the note was supposed to mean.

Gemma stepped up beside her, gasping quietly as she saw Wildcat. “What have they done to her?” she whispered. Then, “What’s that?”

She-Ra handed over the note. “It’s like the one I saw last night in her rooms. I… don’t know what it means. There’s a clue to how to fix this somewhere, but whatever that might be I have no idea.”

“Hm,” Gemma frowned, scanning the note twice. “I don’t know either, we can ask Beau. He probably has the best chance of all of us at this.”

Though a bit reluctant to leave Wildcat, She-Ra followed Gemma back to the window.

“Hey Beau, can you help us decipher something?” Gemma shouted. Beau looked up from where he sat and gave a thumbs up. Gemma read out the note to him and She-Ra squinted down at him, hoping and praying to every damn god that he’d be able to solve it. And he did.

“Oh!” Beau shouted up. “That’s easy. You just need to confess your love and kiss her! Who knew this Prime was such a sap?”

“What?” exclaimed She-Ra. “Like in that legend?”

“Exactly! It makes sense. He thinks you don’t have the guts to confront your feelings, so what better way to release the spell? But you _do_ love her and you’d do it, right? _Right?_ ”

That was a very good question.

She-Ra had spent a while ignoring whatever it was that she felt for Wildcat, but it’d been slowly becoming clear exactly what had happened. Somehow, during this journey, She-Ra had fallen in love with Wildcat. Wholeheartedly and intensely, so deeply that if they hadn’t found a method to get up here, She-Ra would’ve bared the vines and shredded her hands to get to Wildcat. It was something no one could overlook, even She-Ra.

She found herself nodding without a second thought. “Yeah,” she said quietly. Then, louder, “Yeah, I can. I will. I’m going to save Wildcat.”

Beau cheered. “That’s the spirit! Go get your girl, She-Ra!”

This time, when She-Ra’s stomach flipped and her face warmed, she merely smiled and strode back over to the bed, light as air. She hovered over Wildcat, beautiful as ever even in her current state, and felt her expression soften.

“I would travel to the ends of the world for you,” she muttered, then, before she could think twice, leaned down and pressed her lips lightly to Wildcat’s.

She leaned back anxiously, wondering if she’d made a mistake, but then Wildcat’s eyes fluttered open. They were unfocused at first but when she saw She-Ra, Wildcat grinned dopily. “Hey She-Ra,” she said. This time, she was the one to kiss She-Ra.

* * *

“Awww,” Bow and Entrapta cooed in unison. Even Glimmer smiled a bit.

Adora didn’t think she could blush harder, she couldn’t look at Catra as they finished. Still, she felt Catra’s eyes on her for the rest of the game, as they left the tower and discovered the plot of Prime.

Before she knew it, the session was over and everyone was packing up their things. Somehow, in only a few minutes, it went from the five of them to just Adora and Catra sitting in Adora’s kitchen, alone.

“So,” Catra said, clearing her throat. “Quite a session today.”

“Definitely,” Adora agreed. “She-Ra was finally the one to save Wildcat this time.”

Catra shrugged. “I suppose so. And they’re kind of together now, aren’t they? Finally got their shit together.” She turned in her chair to face Adora, head tilting a bit. The distance between their chairs had somehow shrunk to mere centimeters over the game, and Adora could see every freckle on the bridge of Catra’s nose. She could see the slight dryness of Catra’s lips, could smell her shampoo. Her heart hammered wildly.

“Yeah, they did,” Adora breathed out. “Didn’t think they’d do it, really.”

Catra’s lips turned up into a smile. “Me either.” Her eyes bore into Adora’s as she continued, “Though there’s someone else I’m hoping will get her shit together now too. Wildcat figured it out, but I’m not entirely sure if I’ve done enough to win the princess’s affections.”

Adora nearly stopped breathing. So this _was_ going to happen, then. She tried not to look too eager, biting her lip and relishing the way Catra’s eyes followed. “I told you, I’m the paladin here,” she replied, breathless. Then, before she could lose her nerve, Adora leaned in and kissed Catra.

It was something she’d wished to do for nearly a decade, and no amounts of imagining and consuming cheesy romance novels could have prepared her for this moment. Catra was a wildcard, she could not be predicted. Still, Adora loved every moment of it.

Catra’s lips were sweet like the Gushers they’d snacked on, sugary, soft, and completely and utterly addictive. Adora pushed forward, trying not to grin to widely as Catra’s hand ran through her ponytail, brushing through the knotted strands as she kissed Adora with a fervent softness.

Perhaps it was seconds or minutes when they broke away, but when they did, Adora was beaming. “Wow,” she muttered.

“Don’t ruin the moment, princess,” Catra scoffed, but there was a matching grin on her face that said she didn’t mean a single word. She took Adora’s hand, playing with her fingertips shyly as she said, “Would you be mad if I said I’ve been waiting to do that?”

Adora squeezed their intertwined hands. “Actually, I’d say I was thinking the exact same thing.”

They stared at each other in silence for a few moments, taking the other in with disbelieving eyes. Then, Catra giggled. “God, I cant believe this happened as a result of Dungeons and Dragons. Can it get nerdier than that?”

“Probably not,” Adora conceded, “but I don’t think I’d have it any other way.”

Catra leaned in again, pressing her forehead against Adora’s. Against her lips, Adora could barely hear Catra mutter, “Me either, princess.” Adora grinned and kissed her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's the end! thank you all so much for reading this, it means so much to me. this has been a blast to write and it's been so lovely to see other dnd nerds love this concept as much as i do. more she ra fics will definitely be coming from me in the future, maybe even in this universe, who knows.
> 
> until then, have some lazy sketches of designs for the characters' outfits i did: [she-ra](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/703342228717961336/735044588254920774/JPEG_20200721_020422.jpg) | [wildcat](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/703342228717961336/735044325812994048/20200721_020250.jpg) | [gemma](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/703342228717961336/735044325154750534/20200721_020244.jpg) | [beau](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/703342228717961336/735044308884914206/20200721_020228.jpg)  
> (disclaimer: i'm not really an artist, i'm a writer mainly but if you'd like to see more i do post sometimes on my [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/adverbial.starlight/))
> 
> thanks for reading! if you want, catch me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/adverbialnouns) or [tumblr](http://adverbialstarlight.tumblr.com)


End file.
